Capital gains proposals prove a return to common-sense tax and economic policy can't come soon enough

financialpost.com:

One might quibble on what Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre meant last week when he said he would “reverse” the Liberals’ capital gains proposals, but his statement is quite clear that his party will either not proceed with the proposals should they not be law at the time if and when they form government, or they will unwind the proposals if such proposals are effective law at the time.

Presently, the proposals are not law, but it is still technically possible that a new Liberal leader might strike a deal with the NDP to extend Parliament to try to get them passed into law. Like many Canadians, I really hope that does not happen.

Poilievre last week also re-emphasized his Economic Vandalism video that he released last June 2024 in which he made an announcement that he would convene a Tax Reform Task Force within 60 days of forming a government.

The task force would be charged with coming up with ideas to lower taxes on work, hiring and “making stuff”; reduce the share of taxes paid by the poor and middle-income earners; and reduce paperwork by 20 per cent by simplifying tax rules. In summary: lower, simpler, fairer.

For a tax practitioner like me, I was pleased to hear about this last June and, of course, again last week. Our country’s taxation policies over the past nine-plus years have been very destructive and damaging, in particular to entrepreneurs, the lifeblood of our democracy.

With the Liberal Party leadership race now in full bloom, it’s worth a quick review of the two frontrunners’ taxation policies.

Mark Carney has been an inside adviser (despite his loud assertions that he’s an “outsider”) to the Liberal Party or the government for the past few years. He has been directly or indirectly involved in the